Remona Mejak
Creative Writing Instructor
THERE ARE MOMENTS IN LIFE THAT DEFINE US. Moments where we make decisions that steer us towards our purpose or away from it. I remember standing at my mother Daphne’s gravesite crying. I realised at that moment that not only had I lost my mother, but the saddest part was that her incredible storytelling talent had died with her. My mother never had a chance to leave her gift of “words” to the world. She was an incredible and talented storyteller, but sadly, she never had the courage or opportunity to get anything published. I made a vow at her graveside that I was going to educate myself at all publishing industry levels. I was going to help storytellers like my mother find their audiences, connect with their readers, and get their message out to the world. It was too late for her, but there are thousands of others I could help now. The other driving legacy my mother gave me is my Aboriginality.
I am a proud Aboriginal woman. My traditional lineage stems back to the 1700s to 1800s to the Wailwan and Ngemba people connected with Brewarrina and Wiradjuri people from the Gilgandra/Dubbo region. I feel very privileged to be an original descendant of this country. It means everything to me.
The impact of colonialism on my family included one of my grandfathers being indentured from birth to death on a station. My other family was confined to the Gullagambone Reserve, and two of my aunties and one of my cousins were forcibly removed as part of the Stolen Generation Policy. Because of this social injustice, my driving force is to improve outcomes for my people.
For 35 years, I’ve been driven to help storytellers of all nationalities share their stories. I’ve worked for film studios including Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. I’ve held prominent positions with leading production houses, shooting commercials and documentaries. I’ve held valuable roles in publishing houses, radio stations, PR companies, advertising agencies and celebrity agents.
I have dedicated my life to protecting storytellers of all nationalities to ensure their stories are heard. I worked closely with authors from diverse backgrounds and all genres. I felt humbled listening to their stories, their struggles, and their successes. I’ve seen so many authors and screenwriters come and go, and it became clear to me over the decades of working in this industry WHY most books and writers fail to reach their potential. The most common reason often has nothing to do with the quality of the story or writing; most often, it was because the author lacked knowledge of the publishing industry. They weren’t educated to know “HOW” to take their book to the world.
My business is about RECONCILIATION FOR ALL NATIONALITIES. Why, because every person and every family regardless of where you come from has a story to tell and those stories deserve to be told because we are all part of a global community.